A Tightly Closed Fit Cannot Receive

I don't want to call this an epiphany (although it feels that way), but more so an "aha, lightbulb moment" during my journey of reframing my thinking about various aspects of life.

A tightly closed fist cannot receive.

One of my first posts on Substack was about how much I try. I try and I try and I try, and I really have forced a lot of things in my life and maybe spent too much time on just trying something that clearly wasn't meant for me.

And then I come across the aforementioned quote - a tightly closed fist cannot receive. 

And I can't believe that did not dawn on me before.

As an adult, I now understand the value of time. Time is a precious resource that you can never get back. So why do I spend so much of that valuable resource on things that are not truly meant for me?  Rejection in any scenario at all is a saver of time. Why put time and energy into something that is already telling you to unclench your fist to receive what is actually for you?

The closed fist means wasted time and missing out on allocating that time to what could actually be the thing you want most. Or simply clearing the way and allowing what you want to come find you.

I think I misunderstood attracting as being passive. I thought always trying and forcing was being proactive. But being proactive would mean looking inward, learning your boundaries and values, and leaving situations that don't serve those things. I was staying or going back to things over and over again because I wasn't sure what I wanted or needed - I was simply going off impulse or influence.

I have had my fist tightly closed on so many wrong things for so long that I have had no room to receive the things that could possibly be meant for me. I misinterpreted acceptance as defeat instead of an embrace. I have been fighting against my life instead of living it, and I'm hoping I'm a little less stubborn now than before and open up my hand to receive all the wonderful possibilities that are out there… and I hope the same for you, too.

Sincerely,

Swati